


Technarchy Crash

by Xyriath



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-07
Updated: 2013-06-07
Packaged: 2017-12-14 06:42:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/833897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xyriath/pseuds/Xyriath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cyberpunk AU snippet, written for a prompt</p>
            </blockquote>





	Technarchy Crash

Tommy jerked his head up as he heard the crash from three floors down.  It was faint, but definitely there, and he wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't opened the tiny window for just this purpose.

 

"Shit," he growled to himself, constricted pupils dilating as they adjusted to the dim lighting in the cramped apartment.  He wasn't sure exactly how long ago the sun had set, but that didn't matter now.  He lifted his left hand from the keys to the lid of the laptop, waiting the few precious seconds for his coding to finish executing before slamming it shut.  Five plugs detached from the ports on the side of the computer, the wiring snaking back into his open fingers and vanishing as the tips melded seamlessly into the skin.  He could feel his eyes continuing to adjust, but after a moment, they stilled, and he was fairly certain he could almost pass as a normal-looking person.

 

Another crash.  They were probably a floor up by now  "Kaplan," he whispered to the laptop, and the piece of tech began to fold in on itself.  Leaving it to do that, he grabbed another contraption from his bag, lunging over to the pile of hard drives in the corner and slapping it on the top one.  It lit up, the soft blue glow illuminating the room for just a moment before the bright blue laser swept over the pile.  Tommy could feel the faint pulse that was a result of the much more intense magnetic one, felt it in every inch of the metal and wiring that made up his skeleton.

 

He lifted his hand, and the magnet folded in on itself and flew over to him.  He jammed it back in the bag, along with the laptop, which had shrunk to about a quarter of its original size, now only about six inches across.  It was a trick, getting it into the already overstuffed bag, but after a moment of wrestling, he managed to close it, just barely.

 

Hoisting it over his shoulder, he dashed over to the door, one hand on the knob, but… no, it would be too easy to grab him that way.  Turning away, he made for one of the tiny windows, prying it open as far as it would go.  Still wasn't enough.  He bit his lip, pausing for a fraction of a second, then grabbed the edges and wrenched the entire window off.

 

And another crash, louder this time.  They'd be there in seconds.  He tossed the window to the side, adding to the crashing noises.  With a deep breath, he pushed his bag through, then hauled himself out, shoulders first.

 

His hip caught on the frame, and he teetered dangerously for a moment.  For just a split second, he thought he was going to fall on his face on the wet concrete three stories below—

 

Then a wrench, and he was free, falling and using the wall to lever himself into a flip.  He hit the slick concrete on all fours, titanium-laced skeleton absorbing the impact with little problem, then scrambled to his feet, tossing his bag over his shoulder and dashing onto the street in less time than it would have taken someone to blink.

 

He could hear the faintest of yelling from behind him—they had reached his room and found the destroyed window and drives by now—but it was quickly swallowed up by the noise of the people around him, hurrying and trying to get out of the rain that had just picked up.

 

The reinforced soles of his boots smacked in the not-quite-puddles as he half-jogged.  He was so preoccupied with halfhearted internal grumbling about being stuck in this shithole that it took him a few hundred meters to realize that people were staring.

 

The background hum of the city resolved into concerned mutterings in Cantonese issuing from the mouths of those close enough to have a clear view of him.  For a moment Tommy thought his hat had come off, since his silver hair was the only thing he could think of that would elicit that reaction down here, so his hand flew up to his head.  Still there.  Glancing around, slightly alarmed, he lowered it, but after a moment, brought it back up to his face.

 

The warmth emanating from it told him all that he needed to know.  "Shit," he grumbled again.  He was not, as he had thought, inconspicuous, but currently a fixture of the neon lights of Hong Kong.  Even holding his hand several centimeters in front of his face, he could see the green glow of the circuitry patterns that he knew had spread across and down the entire left side of his face, neck, and chest.

 

Throwing subtlety out the window, he sped up, ignoring the alarmed yelps and curses before he finally found familiar ground.  Diving into the alley, he squeezed through a crack in a boarded-up door and through the abandoned rooms of the apartments.  He only idly noticed the layers of graffiti on the walls as the programming in his eyes tried to highlight and translate the Chinese characters.  He eventually came to a stop in a room with an abandoned and gutted electric oven.  Tommy hadn't seen one of those in years, which was how he knew he was in the right place.

 

Pulling off the ballcap and shaking his wet hair out, he took a deep breath and rubbed at his face.  Christ, he hadn't realized how exhausted he was until he had done that much running after sitting for—well, it had to have been a few hours longer than he had thought, if the circuitry had shown up.  He stuffed a hand into his pocket, fingers closing around his one cigarette.  All he could do until the lighting went down was wait, and it's not like anyone would know…

 

He sparked his fingers together to get it lit.  The smell of the tobacco, _real tobacco_ , called to him as he brought it to his mouth—

 

And then suddenly, a hand reached over his shoulder to pluck it out of his hand as it was in transit.

 

Tommy didn't waste his time with indignity.  His response was instantaneous: he snapped his head back, catching whoever it was in the nose with an audible crunch.  He followed with an elbow thrust backwards, earning him a choking grunt.  He lunged forward and whirled around, quickly sizing up the man in front of him.  Obviously a Hong Kong native, wouldn't have stood out in a crowd.  And Tommy had been stupid enough to let the man follow him.

 

Tommy lunged for the neck, hoping for a quick break, but the man caught him.  He had _caught_ Tommy, and now had him in a viselike grip.  "Hey—wait—"

 

English.  Unaccented.  Maybe not a native, but able to pass for one.  These facts flitted through Tommy's mind, and he tried to remain impassive—but the man wasn't letting him go.  Tommy took a swing at his face, but the other hand reached out to grab his wrist as well.  Despite a good yank, the man _still_ managed to hold onto him.  Some kind of enhancements, then?  But a quick scan by Tommy's cybernetics turned up nothing.

 

Last resort, then.  He took off for a run.  The man would either have to let go or have his arms ripped off—but no sooner had he thought this when he felt himself getting yanked backwards by his wrists and pinned against the wall.

 

_Impossible._

 

Tommy could feel the fear choking him—or was it the arms holding him there, the arms that were growing in size, turning green and almost reptilian—

 

_No.  Impossible.  He couldn't hold me here, it's not—_

 

But wait.  Arms.  Turning green.  Unless…

 

Tommy's head jerked up, eyes wide, panting, as the face in front of him resolved into something more familiar.  Brown eyes melding into a brilliant blue, their shape altering subtly, black hair now yellow, face and features broadening.  And, well, giant green plates of armor now coating upper arms and shoulders.

 

There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other before Tommy spoke.

 

"Oh," he breathed, trying not to look equal parts alarmed and guilty.  "Hi."

 

"Hi."  The green lips twisted, the blonde eyebrow quirked.  "You calmed down yet?"

 

"Yeah."  Despite his words, his chest still rose and fell heavily, his voice still breathless.  "You can let me down now."

 

The green resolved into paler skin, the arms (and the rest of him) shrunk, and he set Tommy down.  A quick mental command set his scanners—the _proper_ ones this time—for confirmation.  He tried not to feel too guilty for not using them from the get-go: after all, natural-born metas were infinitely rarer than those whose abilities had been created in a lab, like Tommy's.  The results quickly popped up in the corner of his eye: confirmed identification.

 

"Hey, Teddy."

 

The lips stretched into a full smile.  "Tommy."  He stepped back, letting Tommy go.  "Jumpier than usual, aren't you?"

 

"Hey, you're the one who snuck up on me," Tommy snapped, which only served to cause Teddy to laugh.  He looked around surreptitiously for the cigarette, and let out a despondent sigh when he saw that it had fallen to the ground and gotten smashed under one of their feet in the struggle.  Teddy followed his gaze, spotted it, and shook his head.

 

"Those are terrible for you, you know."

 

"Yeah, but do you know how much it _cost_ me?" Tommy groaned.

 

Teddy just shrugged, and Tommy crossed his arms and hunched his shoulders.  The cigarette wasn't even close to any of the real matters that were upsetting Tommy, and they both knew it.

 

Tommy heard Teddy stir from beside him.  He didn't look, but soon after felt an arm wrapping tentatively around his shoulders.  Tommy sighed heavily, let out a "hmph," and quickly burrowed into it as it held him tighter.

 

"I miss Dubai," he mumbled.

 

"I know."  Teddy's voice was sympathetic, understanding, and perfect.  Goddamn him.  "But we'll be out soon.  Promise."

 

"I know, I know."  He turned his face to bury it momentarily into Teddy's side, but then pulled back, glancing up at him.  "Reminds me.  You get what you needed?"

 

Teddy lifted his other arm to show Tommy a bag he hadn't noticed before.  "Borealis had completely cut it off from external networks, just like you said.  Didn't put too much physical security on it, though."

 

"Yeah, well, no one operates that way anymore," Tommy replied with a smirk.

 

"Mm."  Teddy rested his chin on top of Tommy's head.  "And most of them were too busy running around and frantically trying to fix their systems after some disaster or other hit to notice me.  Or some of the more physical damage I figured I should get up to while I was in there.

 

Tommy just smirked.  "I wonder what could have caused that?  Real fortuitous, though."  He straightened, eyes glinting.  "You shoulda seen it, though.  That was one of the most thorough fucking-ups I've ever done.  'Sides with you, of course."  He could feel Teddy trying not to facepalm.  "Got some of it hidden and timed, too.  They're gonna be digging shit out of their servers for the next couple of weeks, if we're lucky.  C'mere."

 

Teddy turned, looking like he was about to lean in for something, but Tommy was far too preoccupied with dragging him over to the window.  He pointed up to the skyscrapers towering over the city.  Just like always, their eyes gravitated to one in particular, towering over the rest.  The brilliant sign read "Borealis Frontier Bioengineering," the Chinese characters saying the same thing right below it.  Tommy felt the familiar, reflexive surge of hatred and nausea that shot through his gut every time he saw it, and Teddy slid his arm around Tommy's waist and squeezed.

 

"Wait for it," Tommy murmured—

 

_There._   The sign flickered, then sparked.  A flash of intense light—Tommy could hear faint screams—and the entire building went black.

 

The sirens started up almost immediately.  A surge of satisfaction joined the rest as Tommy narrowed his eyes and smirked.

 

"But no one's ever—Tommy, how did you—"

 

Tommy just lifted a finger to Teddy's mouth, quieting him, before leaning in for a brief kiss.  "I just did.  'Cause I had to."  He turned his head back to look at his handiwork.  "How's that for a message, though?  So much for Borealis's 'impenetrable sys—'"

 

Tommy's voice cut off as Teddy yanked on his waist, tugging him forward for a kiss, pressing their lips together and Tommy up against the wall again.  This time, however, Tommy lifted his arms and legs to wrap around him, returning the kiss passionately and pressing every inch up against him that he could.

 

After a few moments, Teddy pulled back, resting his forehead on Tommy's, a genuine smile playing across his features.

 

"You did, good, Tommy."

 

Tommy laughed, feeling a little uncomfortable.  "Yeah, thanks."  He leaned in for another kiss, but Teddy pulled back.

 

"I mean it.  You're—this is great, what you did.  They're almost gone.  We're _going_ to win this."

 

"I know," he mumbled, looking away.  He can't stop the little twinge of guilt at this.  Teddy—Teddy's doing this because it's the right thing.  Because Borealis needs to go down and they need to protect who they can.  But Tommy… well, it was equal parts revenge and thrills for him.

 

For a moment, he wondered if that made him a worse person, even moreso for being with Teddy.  He then decided that he didn't care.

 

He tugged Teddy in for a last kiss, this one much shorter than before, before pulling back.

 

"Let's get out of here.  The sooner we're done in this city, the better."


End file.
